Ariz. tribe debuts virtual gambling

A southern Arizona tribe has become the first in the state to offer virtual gambling on its website.

State and federal laws prevent online gambling for cash, but the Pascua Yaqui's Casino del Sol website offers poker, slots, blackjack and roulette in a way that complies with the law.

The tribe uses the DoubleDown Casino system from Internation Game Technology in Nevada.

Staci Alonso, IGT's vice president of marketing, said her company offers the system to brick-and-mortar casinos without cost. The casinos then put it on their websites.

Players who sign up get $1 million in virtual chips for free. That, however, does not last as long as it might seem.

It takes at least a $100 bet for a single line on a slot machine. And while the lowest buy-in at a poker table is $250, there also is a "black tie" table starting at $200,000.

It is fairly easy to burn through $1 million quickly.

The cash transaction takes place when the chips run out and players want to continue.

They can buy $150,000 worth of new chips for $3, and the deals run up to $99 for an extra $100 million.

Credit cards and PayPal are welcome.

There is no way for players to collect their virtual winnings with actual cash, making the experience more like an arcade game than actual gambling.

The move has not gone unnoticed by Mark Brnovich, the state's gaming director. He said there is little he can do other than to monitor the activities as long as what is occurring does not meet the state definition of "gambling."

Brnovich said that full-blown Internet gaming is coming. He does not want regulators to have to play catch-up when that happens.

But Brnovich said DoubleDown does not cross the line.

"It's more akin to an amusement," he said.

Brnovich compared it to FarmVille, a Facebook game, which can be played for free.

What it does constitute is a taste of gambling, albeit without the financial risk.

"It's just a matter of time before we have either a statewide Internet gaming law or a national gaming law," said Roy Corby, the Casino del Sol's chief operating officer.

He figures that having an operating website will give the Yaquis a boost when that day comes.

"For us it was very important to be at the forefront and to be able to evolve with this and give our guests an early experience in the life cycle," Corby said.

Corby said he doubts that his casino is at risk of losing paying customers to those who prefer to sit home and play online for imaginary chips. It lacks the same thrill as the possibility of winning big.

He said even if those making the trip do not expect to win anything, "they appreciate the honest chance to win."

In fact, Corby sees another benefit of DoubleDown to the tribe, even if Internet gaming never becomes law: Once people are comfortable playing the game at home or at work, without the pressure of being in a casino, they are more likely to decide to try the real thing -- for real money. He said that's what happened with Internet poker.

"People who were reluctant to come in and try it because they were afraid of not knowing how to play or who to ask for help or advice, they started online," Corby said.

"And it really drove a ton of traffic to the casinos as people became more comfortable with it," he added. "We expect that we'll see the same thing here."

Alonso agreed.

"We think it allows us to introduce casino gaming to a new generation of players," she said. "So we really look at it as a social gaming strategy."

Brnovich said even if the goal of what Casino del Sol and IGT are doing is to create more gamblers, that does not merit state intervention.

He said his agency is concerned with the "social consequences related to gambling."

He said legal decisions were made by lawmakers and voters, ranging from parimutuel wagering at horse and dog tracks through a state-run lottery and, most recently, voter approval in 2002 of giving tribes the exclusive right to operate casinos that are regulated by his agency.

And Brnovich said there already are legal enticements to gamble more, including advertising.

"We're not in the business of deterring people from becoming customers of any lawful product," he said.

One thing Corby is not counting on is some big return from the revenue sharing agreement the tribe has with IGT. That's probably a good bet.

"Most people, if they've used up all their points one day, they leave for the day and come back the next day where they're given more free chips to play," Alonso said.

She said she had no specific figures to share of who pulls out a wallet, suggesting that experiences with other forms of social gaming put the figure at from 3 to 4 percent.

Instead, Corby is looking at other ways the partnership will mean future business for his casino.

"While I don't think the brick-and-mortar casino is going away, certainly not in our lifetime, I think the gaming experience inside of it is going to change," Corby said. "You'll see mobile applications, Internet, iPad gaming, all of these that can happen within the walls of the casino."

And he said the DoubleDown system which can be played on these kinds of devices "gives us a chance to see how our patrons react to it."